East to the Beach - A Solo Trip

Does your body and soul ever give you a sign as to what it needs? Do you listen or do you ignore it?

I listen. Sometimes the sign tells me I need to slow down, sometimes it tells me I need red meat and sometimes, it tells me I need to go to the ocean. Recently, it has been telling me I need the ocean.

So this week, I headed to the beach. Isle of Palms, South Carolina to be exact. I worked half a day on Tuesday and said adios to my team. I had packed the car the night before so all I had to do was change clothes, pack the cooler for the trip and fill the car up with gas. About 2:00 pm on Tuesday, I gave Jim a kiss goodbye, told the cats I'd see them in a few days and headed out. My plan was to drive to Asheville, NC and then stop for the night, then finish the drive early the next morning.

The entire drive was so beautiful. Well, most of it. Getting through Knoxville on Highway 40 is always a challenge. The mountains are so serene as you twist and turn on the highway, each view better than the one before. The mountains in Tennessee are really cool but when you reach the ones in North Carolina they are simply stunning. Mountain after mountain reaching to the sky. The mountains and the clouds combined and it was hard to tell when the mountains ended and the sky began. I turned off my audio book several times just to enjoy the peacefulness.

Being in the middle of mountains and forests, you never know what you're going to see. I've seen a variety of animals at different times on the side of the road but this time I actually had a groundhog run in front of me. He ran across three lanes of traffic without getting hit! I was in the middle lane doing about 80 mph (don't tell anyone) and suddenly, there he was. He was a little in front of me on the road just beginning to cross the highway. He was staying low to the ground and running as fast as his little legs could go. I swear he turned his head and looked right at me as to say, "I've got this!". And sure enough, he did. He made it to the other side before me and the car to the left of me passed. I smiled and said "Good Job!".

I was in Mt. Pleasant before noon on Wednesday. The bad news was I had to wait until 2:00 to check into my Airbnb. Luckily, I had done some research on Mt. Pleasant and there were a couple things I wanted to check out. Shem Creek and the Pitt Street Bridge.

The Shem Creek Boardwalk goes out into the Charleston Harbor and is over 3,000 ft long. I walked out to the very end and just stood there looking out into the harbor. There were a few other people out there. Some fishing, some, like me, just enjoying the view. Shem Creek is still a very active harbor. I walked past shrimp boats that still had shrimp caught in the netting and I also watched a lot of pleasure boats going in and out. It was interesting watching the men on the work boats that had just come in. You could tell they had already had a full day out on the water. And now they had to spend time cleaning their boat. I watched a couple of them and thought what a different lifestyle that would be.

I wanted to walk the entire boardwalk and I'm so glad that I did because at the end, I found a very fun, island-vibe outdoor bar overlooking Shem Creek. Scotty was the bartender and Jean was waiting on people that sat at tables. They weren't real busy so we talked about where we were from, family, places we had traveled. They were both so much fun and I stayed until it was time to check in to my Airbnb. I had hopes on visiting them again on my trip but unfortunately, I never made it back.

Scotty!

When I walked into I my Airbnb, I was thrilled. It looked good online but was even better in person. It had a living room, bedroom, bathroom and kitchen. I felt like the place was welcoming me. I took a shower and got settled in. Next up, time for dinner. I decided to go to one of the restaurants that had been recommended by Scotty that overlooked Shem Creek. River's Edge. I ordered a glass of wine and shrimp and grits. I was seated by the window so I had a great view. The shrimp and grits came out looking like a dish from a magazine. Including the edible flower placed on top. I've never eaten shrimp and grits and was not disappointed! It had a little kick but it was delicious. I talked to other people at tables nearby as I ate and had a great time. After dinner, I spent the rest of the evening exploring a little more of Mt. Pleasant. Very relaxed, casual evening.

As a side note: This part of the country is known as the "Lowcountry". The Lowcountry is known for certain mannerisms, foods and cultural dynamics. The Gullah/Geechee are a group of African Americans that settled in the Lowcountry. I did some research and found them to be quite interesting. I had never heard this term until I was at the beach. I was speaking to a woman from Costa Rica and she told me her husband's heritage was Gullah/Geechee, her daughter-in-law was Irish and her son-in-law was Jamaican. Talk about diversity!

The Shrimp and Grits dish is a signature dish from the Lowcountry as well as the Lowcountry Boil. I had both while I was there and both were delicious!

Thursday morning I woke to a beautiful sunrise. My first thought was "Time to go to the beach!". I was going to Isle of Palms. It was only about a six mile drive but I wanted to get there as soon as I could to spend as much time on the beach as possible. I did have to stop and wait for the draw bridge before I crossed over to Sullivan's Island. That actually made me smile. When you go to Isle of Palms you have to go through Sullivan's Island first. It's a charming little community but less touristy so very little places to park. This is why most people continue on to Isle of Palms.

As I crossed the connector onto Isle of Palms, I saw my first glance of the ocean. It literally took my breath away. The sun was sparkling on the water and I could see the waves gently coming to shore. I immediately felt a sense of calm come over me. The view was quickly gone, being replaced by beautiful homes island homes. I could tell that life is a little slower on Isle of Palms. The speed limit in no higher that 35 and people abide by it. I found the county park where I wanted to park and got a great spot. I gathered my things and headed to the beach! I had reserved a chair and umbrella for the three days I would be there so they were already set up on the beach waiting for me.

This is where I spent the next three days. I had these great visions of writing while I was listening to the waves crashing into the shore. I brought a notepad and had even brought my laptop with me. Well, that turned out to be a flop. I did not write or type one single word. I was afraid to get sand in my laptop and it was very windy so I couldn't get my paper to stay still. So much for good intentions!

The beach is magic to me. The ocean life that you know is out there but cannot sea. The sounds of the waves coming into shore. The sounds of children playing in the ocean. The gentle breeze that always seems to be there. Water has such a force about it. It's funny to think how strong it is and yet it seems so gentle at time.

Each day the beach got a little busier. I had my chair and umbrella with a beach mat in front of it. my own little area where I could sit and do nothing. I would lay on my mat in the sun for a while and then get up and go in the water. Then I would sit in my chair in the shade and relax. That was my schedule. Mat, Water, Chair. I had conversations with people around me at times and other times I just enjoyed.

The diversity of the people at the beach was impressive. Every age, size, shape, ethnicity and gender. No one seemed to be trying to impress and no one seemed self conscious about how they looked. It was great! I also didn't care. In fact, I didn't wear makeup when I went to the beach. Well, I guess I did the first day. But not after that. I felt free!

One of the reasons I had come to Isle of Palms was to see if I could see any turtle nests. Over the past year I have been reading a series of books that is set on Isle of Palms and discusses the Logger Head Sea Turtles quite a lot. So before I headed out, I got online to see if I could figure out where any nests were. Or if there even were any. Well, to my great delight, they (the Isle of Palms Turtle Team) had discovered two nests one morning. They had to move the nests so they didn't get destroyed during high tide. In their post, they said where they had relocated the nests, so that morning, I hurried up and headed to the beach. I parked in the same lot,beach grabbed my camera and left my bag in the car. The nests were the opposite direction from where my beach chair was set up so no need to drag everything around.

On the map, it didn't look like it was very far from where I was parked. And normally, it wouldn't have been a big deal. But I realized as I was walking that it was 14 blocks from where I was. Walking in the sand. In 90+ degree weather (even though it was 10:00 am) So my legs got a great exercise and my hair turned into a frizzball. But I found the nests! I was so excited! This made the entire trip worth it!!

I spent my days at the beach followed by a shower and going out to dinner in Mt. Pleasant. Then when it was just about dark, I would head back to the beach with a towel and sit on the sand and watch the beach slowly become deserted. The beach at night is so different than the beach during the day. I would find a spot that was away from anyone else and just sit. Families were packing up to head home. The ocean was turning darker. The sounds of people getting quieter and the sounds of the waves becoming more prominent. I would stay there each night for an hour or so and then I would head out.

Sunday morning came way too soon. I had an eight hour drive home so I got up and headed out early. There was a chance for storms so I wanted to give myself extra time. Luckily, there were no storms. No rain at all. Just a long drive home.

The best way to describe my little getaway would be to say it was heaven. This is why I listen to my body and soul when it tells me I need the ocean!